darelthfandomcom-20200214-history
Xemil Empire
General Location: The northern and southern shores of the Sea of Storms to the mountains, as well as the Land of the Three Lakes. Racial Mix: Xeph 76% Human 22% Sharakim 2% Religious Mix: Heavenly Twins 81% Followers of Dariman 7% Light 4% Agnostic 6% Atheistic 2% Languages: Xilxa, Merifel, Xalxith, Harthak Mounts Military Civilian Individual Warcat Ox Draft War Oxen Ox Basic Architectural Style: Highly carved, many tiered buildings with high ceilings, tall windows, and towers. Basic Clothing Style: Heavy skirt/kilt with a wrapped tunic. Gift and Rest days: Name When Type Day's Judgement Midsummer Holiday Night's Reckoning Midwinter Holiday Planting Festival Spring Gift Harvest Festival Fall Rest Countries Country Size Location Xemil 33,000,000 See above Total: 33,000,000 General Description Xemil is the second largest nation on Darelth, and the oldest. It is also the wettest, surrounding the Sea of Storms. It is stable, non-expanionist, and more than strong enough to defend itself. Men and women are roughly equally valued, though highly segregated. However, the class hierarchy is a very finely stratified and rigid caste system. In fact, the noble, merchant, craftsman, peasant, and unclean castes are so distinct that each has its own distinct culture and ettiquette, though many commonalities (and the language) are shared. The caste system, though originally educationally and wealth-based, has petrified into a system that has a very strong racial component as well. The sharakim that live in Xemil are always of the unclean caste, stuck doing the foulest and lowest of jobs just to eke out a pitiful survival. Humans are typically craftsmen and peasants, though a rare few are merchants as well. But no xeph is lower than a craftsman, and all nobles are xeph by definition. Caste is indicated by a tattoo on the neck, which increases in size with caste. The unclean have a small tattoo at the notch of the collarbone, while the nobles have a general V-pattern that touches the end of their jaws and the collarbone. The patterns of the tattoos vary wildly, and can be very ornate. Unmarried men and women live in separate sections of a village, with married couples and businesses in between. This separation happens at a very early age - as soon as the child is old enough to walk and talk coherently, it is sent to the appropriate section to be raised by the unmarried men (or women) in common. The actual parents are expected to contribute to the unkeep and care, but not to the child's upbringing or education. There is a strong bias against bastardy however, and promiscuity is deeply frowned upon. Naming Traditions In general, traditional Xeph naming schemes are used, though given names are always followed by the name of the person's home. The connector varies with the general social class of the person. So Assim dur Xal is an unclean, Mayasia dul Xorit is a peasant, Darya jit Xorim is a craftsman, Melxir jid Ximat is a merchant, and Asirya xin Xemil is a noble. Marriage Traditions Lineage and inheiritance is matrilineal. Marriages are usually between a single man and woman, but group marriages are possible though rare. Group marriages have a very slight tendency to be polyandrous. Divorce is possible by any spouse, but must be either for dereliction, abuse, or infidelity. History and Other Notes Xemil has varied in size a great deal through the centuries; it's currently the largest its ever been since ancient times. It reached its present size after a retailiatory war against the Cities of Merithan for an invasion the Merithans had launched. Prior to that, it seized land from the then-larger Chila, reducing the other by half. Year Event -1900 Oldest known structure in Xemil. -1300 Temple at Xhama built. -683 The colony of Xara founded. -475 The eastern and western parts of the Ancient Xeph Empire split; the eastern portion becomes the Xalar Empire. The western (and older) portion becomes the Xemil Empire. -371 The Xemil Empire fragments in a decades long sucession war. -267 The Xila Empire (later Chila) claims the northern part of what was once the Xemil Empire. 617 Xemil conquers the Chila Empire. 829 Xemil repulses an invasion from the Merithan city-states. 830-5 Xemil sacks the coastal cities of Merithan in retaliation. Category: SettingCategory: Cultures